| Welcome to the online newsletter of the New Mexico Acequia Association, Las Noticias de las Acequias! Our communal irrigation systems are essential to our way of life. Acequias are under threat from development pressures, commodification of water, and challenges facing small scale farmers.
Join us in the struggle to sustain our way of life by protecting water as a community resource and strengthing our farming and ranching traditions. If you are on our mailing list, bienvenidos!!! If you would like to receive this online newsletter, please click above right: "Join Our Mailing List." Also, if you know someone who is a parciante or supporter, please forward this newsletter to them. Thank you for your support! Que Vivan las Acequias!!
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| 9th Annual Congreso de las Acequias |
The 9th Annual Congreso de las Acequias will be held on Friday, December 5th and Saturday, December 6th at The Lodge (750 N. St. Francis Drive) in Santa Fe. The Congreso is the statewide federation of regional delegations that comprises the governing body of the New Mexico Acequia Association.
Click here for a complete PROGRAM.
Highlights of the meeting include the following:
Friday Afternoon 1pm - 5pm:
Workshops and Sessions on Various Topics
Friday Evening 6:30pm:
Banquet and Awards Ceremony
Keynote by Congressman-Elect Ben Ray Lujan
Saturday Morning starting at 9:30am - General Assembly:
Blessing of the Waters
Recognition of Dignitaries
NMAA Annual Report
Keynote by State Engineer John D'Antonio
Saturday Afternoon after lunch - Congreso Business:
Resolutions
Concilio Elections
Click here to REGISTER for the Congreso de las Acequias. For more information, call 505-995-9644. NMAA has reserved a block of rooms at The Lodge at a special rate of $86 per night. Call NMAA by November 14th to book a room at the group rate.
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| Court Victory for Acequias
Ryan Golten, NM Legal Aid |
On October 20th, the New Mexico Court of Appeals issued a much-anticipated decision in the acequia transfer case involving the San Jose de Hernández Community Ditch and the Acequia del Gavilán. This was a appeal from the Acequias' denials of applications by developer Richard Cook and his company Peña Blanca Partnership to transfer water rights off the Acequias. In both cases, Cook challenged the 2003 acequia transfer law, NMSA Sections 73-2-21(E) and 73-3-4.1, as violating constitutional guarantees of equal protection and a "de novo" appeal in certain instances. The Court of Appeals disagreed with Cook, holding that the Legislature acted lawfully in granting acequias' decision-making power over acequias.
Significantly, the Court recognized that the law "helps assure that acequia commissioners, who have greater familiarity with the unique needs of the acequia and its members, retain the power to decide whether such changes will harm the operation of the acequia or those who depend on it for access to their water rights."
The landmark acequia transfer law gives acequias the authority to deny a transfer of water rights off the acequia if the acequia determines it would be detrimental to the acequia or its members, provided the acequia adopts the authority into its bylaws. Since the passage of the law, acequias around the state have adopted and implemented these significant new powers. This law has been strongly contested by developers and municipalities, who argue acequias should not have this authority previously held exclusively by the State Engineer. This decision is a major victory for acequias, as the first decision by the appellate courts to address the constitutionality of the acequia transfer statute. The two Acequias now go back to the district court on other issues raised in the case, including whether the Acequias' decisions were supported by sufficient evidence, complied with due process, and were in accordance with law. |
Building the Local Food System
Sarah Laeng-Gilliat, Food Policy Coordinator |
The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), together with the New Mexico Acequia Association (NMAA), has been chosen by the Wallace Foundation and Winrock International to be one of eight "Regional Lead Teams" across the country to work on "scaling up" local consumption of locally produced "good food." Good food is described by this effort as healthy, green, fair, and affordable. Currently, it is estimated that 2% of the food that is consumed nationally is good food-this national effort seeks to build that percentage, region by region, to 10%.
This involves rebuilding the complex web that is a local food system-a network of relationships, infrastructure, creative initiatives, and supportive policy that supports local farmers and ranchers, people processing food and "adding value" to it in a wide range of ways, marketing and distributing the food, and retailing to educated consumers. This regional team in New Mexico consists of a consortium of groups: the AFSC and the NMAA together with their partners Pati Martinson and Terri Bad Hand from the Taos County Economic Development Corporation, Carlos Salazar from the Northern New Mexico Stockman's Association, Edmund Gomez from the New Mexico State University's Sustainable Agriculture Research Center at Alcalde, and Robin Seydel from La Montanita Coop.
As Don Bustos from the AFSC says, "The goal of our Good Food Network in New Mexico is to coordinate and bring people and organizations together to identify barriers and hurdles to helping change the food system. Our goal is to make more local food can be accessible in our own region. Demand for good food far surpasses supply; there will have to be a scaling up process that will allow for growers and organizations to meet that demand . . . we are hoping to learn what needs to change to allow this shift to occur." In this first year, the consortium of groups is organizing three meetings for people throughout the value chain. At the end of the year, the team will propose a pilot project based on the findings from the meetings.
This New Mexico regional team intends to build on the vast traditions and practices that historically have allowed New Mexicans to be largely self-reliant. The time-tested traditions of acequia and pueblo culture, together with innovative practices and creative policy-making, can provide promising paths into the future. Vital to this team's efforts is the conviction that food is a human right and that good food should be accessible to all people. Food is part of life, part of land, water, and culture, and should be returned to its proper place in our lives rather than being a commodity. In so doing, we can achieve multiple benefits-cultural, economic, spiritual, political, environmental.
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| Oil and Gas Permits Delayed
Adan Trujillo, Rio Arriba County |
Earlier this year, Rio Arriba County challenged the approval of permits to drill for oil and gas in the Rio Chama Watershed because of concerns that the waters of the upper watershed were at risk for contamination and impairment. As a result, all of the permits to drill oil and gas wells in the Rio Chama Watershed have been stayed by the Oil Conservation Division until more stringent rules and regulations for drilling in that sensitive area have been enacted. Once those new rules and regulations are in place, then the applications to drill in that area will be heard in a new hearing by the Oil Conservation Commission.
Rio Arriba County expects that a hearing will be held sometime in November 2008 to discuss and enact the new rules and regulations. This hearing will be open to the public and public feedback will likely be allowed. The County will present evidence regarding the need for stricter regulations for oil and gas in that area to ensure that water resources are adequately protected from oil and gas development. Rio Arriba County will also be enacting its own oil and gas development ordinance in February 2009. |
| OSE Appoints Water Masters
Paula Garcia, Executive Director |
The State Engineer received recurring funds for twenty water masters in New Mexico to implement Active Water Resource Management. There are water masters in several basins around the state but this piece will focus, by way of case studies, on two basins: Mimbres Valley, which has a final decree, and the Mora Valley, which is unadjudicated.
The Mimbres Valley water rights are adjudicated. Some years ago, a senior water user did a priority call on the upstream junior users. As a result, the State Engineer appointed a water master to the upper basin to meter and curtail junior users. Recently the State Engineer announced that water masters would be appointed for the middle and lower basins. Some of the users there have been mostly concerned with the water master authority over irrigation schedules, water master authority over diversion amounts, and the protocol for interacting with Mayordomos and landowners.
The Mora Valley water rights are unadjudicated. La Asociacion de las Acequias del Valle de Mora has opposed the appointment of a Mora Water Master for two reasons. First, water masters are not authorized to apportion unadjudicated water. Secondly, there is a lack of protocol in dealing with local acequia officials. The OSE claims that the water master will be in place to mediate disputes and map the acequias. However, local acequias have raised many questions about the manner in which the presence of a water master might undermine local authority over water distribution and addressing internal disagreements between parciantes.
Whether water masters are appointed in adjudicated or unadjudicated basins, many questions remain about their role in relation to local acequia officials. The NMAA made a presentation to the Water and Natural Resources Legislative Interim Committee based on these concerns. |
Acequia Governance Program Update
Kenny Salazar, Program Manager and Paula Garcia, Executive Director |
Acequias have sustained customs and traditions of water sharing for hundreds of years in New Mexico. This program builds on the centuries-old acequia legacy by strengthing self-governance of acequias with regard to water management and compliance with state law. NMAA supports acequias through workshops and consultations on acequia bylaws and infrastructure planning. The following are some activities since July.
- Consultations on bylaws and other governance matters for thirty four (34) acequias.
- Two workshops on Acequia Governance in San Lorenzo and Sierra County (T or C) with fifty two (52) participants.
- One Infrastructure Capital Improvement Planning (ICIP) workshop in Santa Fe with thirty three (33) participants.
- Assisted thirteen (13) acequias with preparation/updating of ICIPs.
- Attended twenty two (22) individual acequia meetings to give presentations and answer questions about acequia governance.
- Completed acequia survey assessments using mailed survey instruments on seventy four (74) acequias.
- Provided Capital Outlay guidance for nineteen (19) acequias.
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Adjudication Reform
Paula Garcia, Executive Director |
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Last year, the Water and Natural Resources Legislative Interim Committee (WNRC) formed an Adjudication Reform Subcommittee to make findings and recommendations on how to expedite the adjudication process. The scope of the task force work was to focus on future adjudications. Current adjudications would not be affected by the recommendations of the task force. The Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) prepared a report based on findings from other states and their approach to expediting adjudications. One of the findings was that "claims based" adjudications were faster. However, what was described as more expeditious adjudications came at a price. The "claims based" process requires that individual claimants submit their declarations (including duty of water, priority date, etc.) by a certain deadline or risk losing their water rights. The New Mexico Acequia Association made a presentation to the Adjudication Reform Subcommittee and strongly opposed a claims based system because it could disenfranchise acequia parciantes.
More recently, the Adjudication Reform Subcommittee heard three different legislative proposals.
Mandatory Declarations. Judge Valentine proposed that the state enact new statutes requiring claimants to file declarations by a certain deadline. This would presumably expedite the initiation of a water right adjudication process by having an identified inventory of claimants. NMAA's response was that this could exclude parciantes who do not have adequate legal advice to file a correct declaration.
Licensing. The State Engineer proposed that the state expand his powers to grant licenses such that pre-1907 water rights could be licensed and that those licenses granted by the OSE would not be subject to challenge in an eventual adjudication. NMAA's response was that it was unconstitutional to change the nature of a pre-1907 water right and that the OSE would violate the separations of powers doctrine by making administrative determinations of water rights that could not be challenged in the adjudication.
Claims-based Adjudication. The Administrative Office of the Courts issued a report with recommendations to move toward a more claims-based adjudication process. The recommendations are not entirely based on models in other states in that they do not have severe penalties, such as loss of water rights, for not filing claims by a certain deadline.
The NMAA has submitted written comments to the Adjudication Reform Subcommittee. With regard to acequias, adjudication reform would most affect the areas of Mora Valley, Upper Pecos, Upper and Lower Embudo watershed, and the Middle Rio Grande. For more information, contact our office at 505-995-9644.
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| State Auditor to Propose Changes to Audit and Reporting Requirements by Paula Garcia |
State Auditor Hector Balderas will propose some changes to the Audit Act that will affect local governments such as mutual domestics, soil and water conservation districts, land grants, and acequias. The current Audit Act requires that he conduct an audit of every political subdivision of the state. The Office of the State Auditor created the Rural Accountability Task Force to study how this requirement would affect local governments and to recommend whether this requirement should be changed to accommodate the needs of smaller local governments such as acequias.
The Task Force studied the issue and found that New Mexico has one of the most stringent laws in the country in requiring audits of every local government. Based on models in other states, the Task Force recommended different requirements for smaller local governments. Because smaller local governments have smaller budgets, it is not feasible for them to conduct an annual audit, which can cost thousands of dollars. This is especially true for acequias, many of which operate with little or no funds.
The Auditor's Task Force comes at a time when the State is seeking more accountability for the expenditure of taxpayer dollars. Some recent Capital Outlay appropriations have included the requirement that the recipient of those dollars comply with the Audit Act. The following is a brief overview of the current law and the proposed changes to the law.
Current State Law: The State Auditor must conduct an audit of all political subdivisions.
Proposed Changes to State Law: The State should enact different requirements for mutual domestics, land grants, and special districts (including acequias). The reason is that these entities are relatively small, they do not have large budgets generally, and they cannot afford to conduct audits. The Task Force recommends the following change to the Audit Act or regulations of the State Auditor: Entities with annual expenditures of $500,000 or more should conduct an audit while entities with annual expenditures less than $500,000 should only have certain reporting requirements. This would apply to land grants, mutual domestics, and special districts (including acequias). Although self-generated funds would not have a reporting requirement if they are under $10,000, any entity receiving Capital Outlay would have a reporting requirement.
The State Auditor's Task Force on Rural Accountability included representatives from the New Mexico Soil and Water Conservation Districts, the New Mexico Land Grant Council, the New Mexico Acequia Association, the New Mexico Rural Water Association, and representatives from small towns and counties. It was chaired by Arturo Archuleta.
Most acequias would fall in the "Under $10,000" category. For those acequias receiving public funds or with larger budgets, these requirements will be a new burden. However, these modified requirements are preferable to the current requirement of doing a full compliance audit on all entities. Even though this had not been implemented in the past, the trend toward more transparency in the use of public dollars may have required strict implementation. These proposals are intended to provide for accountability in the use of taxpayer dollars while making the reporting requirements reasonable. For more information, please contact the NMAA office at 505-995-9644.
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Acequias Featured in Two New Books |
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Water Consciousness: How We All Have to Change to Protect Our Most Critical Resource
This book is a solution-focused guide to the global water crisis. Authors, including NMAA Director Paula Garcia, cover a breadth of topics including conservation, privatization, technology, grassroots movements, and the need for new laws that treat water as a common trust, not a commodity.
Edited by Tara Lohan
Published by AlterNet Books
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From the mountains of northern Spain to the Andes in South America, Spanish-speaking people have told ancient legends of Juan del Oso and his friends. In this children's tale, agriculturalist Juan Estevan Arellano and folklorist Enrique Lamadrid share a unique version of a celebrated story that has been told in northern New Mexico for centuries.
Enrique R. Lamadrid
Juan Estevan Arellano
Amy Cordova , Illustrator
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Que Vivan las Acequias Radio Show
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This is a monthly half-hour radio show that explores the richness the
acequia culture and the challenges facing acequias. The show also
chronicles the work of the New Mexico Acequia Association and the
activities of the Sembrando Semillas team. |
| Thank You!! |
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The New Mexico Acequia Association gratefully acknowledges the support of the many acequia parciantes and supporters who are members and who have made donations.
We also wish to thank our foundation supporters including (in alphabetical order) the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, the Christensen Fund, the Jesse Smith Noyes Foundation, the Just Woke Up Fund, the Marguerite Casey Foundation, the New Mexico Community Foundation, the Panta Rhea Foundation, the Santa Fe Community Foundation, the W. K. Kellogg Foundation.
The NMAA is a not-for-profit, tax exempt organization organized as a 501c3 under the rules of the Internal Revenue Service. Donations to the NMAA are tax deductible.
The NMAA also provides services for community education through contracts with the State of New Mexico, Department of Finance and Administration - Local Government Division and the New Mexico Department of Agriculture.
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